More than six decades after the world lost one of Hollywood’s most iconic stars, a new theory has reignited the debate over what really happened to Marilyn Monroe.
The official explanation has long been accepted as a tragic o*erdose, but newly resurfaced claims, secret police files, and a mysterious diary are now raising unsettling questions.
Highlights
- Retired LAPD detective Mike Rothmiller claimed to have discovered 70 pages of Marilyn Monroe's legendary "red diary".
- Rothmiller alleged actor Peter Lawford admitted he and Robert Kennedy visited Marilyn the night she passed away.
- Based on these findings, Rothmiller has urged authorities to reopen the case.
According to the investigation of a retired detective, a hidden paper trail, surveillance records, and a shocking confession could point to a far darker ending for the legendary actress.
Marilyn Monroe’s tragic passing was officially ruled a self-slaughter in 1962
Image credits: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Monroe was found lifeless in the early hours of August 5, 1962, at her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles. She was just 36 years old.
Authorities discovered the actress lying bare and face down on her bed, surrounded by empty prescription pill bottles. An autopsy concluded she had passed away from a self-inflicted barbiturate overd*se, bringing the case to a close.
However, the circumstances surrounding her passing have fueled speculation for decades.
Some investigators and medical professionals involved in the case later questioned whether the evidence truly matched the official conclusion.
Image credits: Baron/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Image credits: NSRjunkie
As reported by Bored Panda, Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the Los Angeles deputy coroner who conducted Monroe’s autopsy, later alleged key evidence had disappeared before further testing could be completed.
“It left too many questions unanswered,” Noguchi said, explaining that Monroe’s internal organs had been disposed of before he could perform additional toxicology tests.
Without those samples, he claimed it became impossible to determine exactly how the substance entered her body.
Another retired LA detective has raised questions and theories related to Monroe’s passing
Image credits: M. Garrett/Getty Images
Now, a retired Los Angeles Police Department detective, Mike Rothmiller, has raised questions surrounding Monroe’s passing, alleging there was something far more sinister, per the Daily Mail.
Rothmiller began examining intelligence archives in 1978 while working inside the LAPD’s Organized Crime Intelligence Division (OCID), a secretive unit that collected confidential dossiers on politicians, celebrities, mobsters, and journalists.
Inside those files, he alleged he discovered surveillance reports, phone transcripts, and confidential documents involving Monroe and members of the Kennedy family.
Image credits: RetroNewsNow
The detective further claimed the files included records showing that Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and actor Peter Lawford were under surveillance in LA on the day Monroe passed away.
“History has to be accurate,” Rothmiller later said. “If there is a mistake, history has to be corrected.”
The findings eventually led him to urge LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman to reopen the case and conduct a new investigation.
Mike Rothmiller’s discovery revealed Monroe’s mysterious “red diary”, further raising more questions
Image credits: Harry Warnecke/Getty Images
One of the most intriguing pieces of evidence Rothmiller claims to have found was a long-rumored personal diary belonging to Monroe.
For years, the actress’s “red diary” had been considered a Hollywood legend, an object rumored to have vanished shortly after her passing.
Rothmiller claimed he discovered about 70 photocopied pages of handwritten entries stored inside LAPD intelligence files.
Image credits: Nickfromupnorth
Image credits: MajinFranklin
According to him, the pages described Monroe’s relationships with President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, whom she referred to simply as “John” and “Bobby.”
The diary allegedly contained intimate details about her romantic encounters with both men, along with personal frustrations about their treatment of her.
In one entry about John, Monroe repeatedly wrote, “We just kiss and have s*x. I wish it were more, but it’s not.”
Image credits: Ole_la_Marilyn
Another entry described her relationship with Robert more affectionately. “Bobby is gentle. He listens to me. He’s nicer than John.”
However, the tone of the diary changed dramatically in the weeks before she was found lifeless.
Image credits: Bettman/Getty Images
Image credits: ciccone_ronald
Monroe apparently wrote that the brothers had stopped returning her calls and that she felt used and abandoned.
“They are not calling back. Bob and John used me. I told Peter they're ignoring me. I'm not going to stand for that. I'm going to tell everyone about us,” she wrote.
One of the final lines in the diary reportedly read, “Peter said Robert will come tomorrow.” Hours later, Monroe had passed away.
Monroe’s “red diary” included a confession from Peter Lawford, which revealed what happened that night
Image credits: United Artists
Rothmiller revealed the final piece of the puzzle came during a meeting in 1982 with Peter Lawford, who was married to Robert Kennedy’s sister.
According to Rothmiller, Lawford eventually admitted that he and Robert had visited Monroe’s home on August 4, 1962, the night before she was found lifeless.
Lawford further allegedly told the detective that the visit turned into a heated confrontation after Monroe threatened to expose her relationships with the powerful political family.
During the argument, Rothmiller claimed Robert searched the house for Monroe’s diary while she sat on a sofa.
Lawford repeatedly described seeing Kennedy prepare a drink in the kitchen before handing it to Monroe.
After she drank it, he said she soon appeared weak and disoriented.
Image credits: United Artists
Image credits: GarrenGroom
Image credits: piptiegirl
When they returned to the room later, Lawford allegedly told Rothmiller that Monroe was slumped back on the couch and barely conscious.
Rothmiller claimed Lawford broke down while recalling the moment. “He began to cry and nodded. He said, ‘They didn’t need to do this.’”
“I believed Lawford. I saw his pain. ‘Did you know why there was a delay in calling the police after you left her?’ Rothmiller shared.
“He shrugged, shook his head, and softly said, ‘I’m not sure’. He paused and added, ‘I heard it was to give him enough time to fly to San Francisco.'’’
Rothmiller’s published bombshell revelations had called for a new investigation into Monroe’s passing
Image credits: Bettman/Getty Images
Rothmiller has since published his claims in the book, Bombshell: The Night Bobby Kennedy K*ller Marilyn Monroe.
He believes modern forensic science could finally provide answers that investigators in 1962 could not obtain.
The retired detective has since asked the authorities to perform new toxicology tests on any remaining biological samples from Monroe’s autopsy.
Those tests could potentially detect substances that were unknown or impossible to identify at the time.
Rothmiller further noted that a new investigation could uncover the remaining pieces of the puzzle.
“The other 5 percent is still unknown because the people involved are d*ad and never talked,” he said. “And some documents likely have been destroyed forever.”
Despite decades of theories and speculation, no member of the Kennedy family has ever been charged or officially linked to Monroe’s passing.
"She had so much on Kennedys," wrote one netizen
